Growing tomato seedlings vertically or horizontally using toilet paper and empty plastic containers is not a new, but still rarely used method for the primary formation of seedlings of garden crops. Traditionally, owners continue to use the classic method of germinating tomatoes, placing seedling boxes on their apartment window sills and putting up with the low hygiene of the procedure. This option for preparing tomato seedlings not only wastes time and money, but also does not exclude the formation of fungal infections, which quickly develop in the substrate and paralyze the growth of seedlings.
Surprisingly, thin paper intended for hygienic needs contains everything necessary for the healthy development of seed material. Having tried the method of germinating tomato seeds in toilet paper, you are unlikely to want to return to the troublesome manipulations and sow the seeds in the soil, at a stage when you can easily do without it.
Seed preparation
Prevention of diseases and hardening can harm the seeds if all the means in the arsenal are used indiscriminately to help with this task. Tomato seeds initially, that is, before the act of purchase, could have been disinfected and stimulated to accelerate growth, and this information must be found on the seed packaging. Additional processing of planting material is allowed in the amount of 1-2 procedures, if the pre-sale preparation mark is present on the package. If there is no mark, you will have to follow the complete scheme for home “treatment” of seeds.
The selection of strong seeds is carried out in a weak saline solution. The seeds are soaked in a glass of liquid for 15 minutes, after which all floating “dummies” are caught with a spoon and thrown away, and the seeds that have settled to the bottom are considered suitable and are subject to preparatory procedures:
- Hardening of seeds. This is done so that the planted seedlings are less affected by temperature changes characteristic of early spring. First, the seeds, placed between two pieces of gauze moistened with water, are left for 12 hours at a temperature of 20-23 0C, then the saucer with the seeds is put into the freezer for five hours at an acceptable low temperature of -3 0WITH;
- Awakening the seeds.To do this, use melt water prepared in this way - fill a 3-liter jar of snow and watch when about 1/3 of the container melts. As soon as a third of the snow turns into water, this water is drained and used to germinate seeds. The seeds are soaked for 15-17 hours;
- Disinfection of seeds. Disinfection occurs in a 0.1% manganese solution. The antiseptic treatment procedure lasts 10-15 minutes, then the seeds are dried on a napkin;
- Oxygen saturation. The method for accelerating seed germination requires additional tools - an aquarium compressor. A 0.5 liter jar is filled one third with water, the seeds are placed in it, and then the tube from the compressor is inserted and the oxygen supply is turned on.
In order for the seeds to germinate faster, a folk remedy using undiluted aloe vera juice is also suitable. The seeds are immersed in the squeezed and strained juice for a day, then dried and sown.
How to germinate seeds in toilet paper
Both methods of using toilet paper for tomato seedlings involve using the cheapest plastic container. According to the first method with toilet paper, planting will be done in disposable cups. Prepare no more than 10 cups; this number of seeds is enough for a standard summer cottage.
Method in plastic cups
The entire procedure of planting seeds on toilet paper will take less than an hour:
- ordinary cellophane transparent bags are cut into ribbons 7-10 cm wide;
- a double strip of the cheapest toilet paper is spread on each polyethylene strip and sprayed with water from a spray bottle;
- an indent of 1-2 cm is made from the top edge of the paper, and the seeds begin to be laid out with a maintained distance of 1.5-2 cm between the sown seeds;
- when the seeds are spread out, another double strip of paper is carefully placed on top and again moistened with water from a spray bottle;
- a second cellophane tape is applied to the wet paper and this entire structure is very carefully and tightly rolled into a roll;
- The outside of the finished roll must be secured with thread or an elastic band, and then placed vertically in the cup, but so that the seeds are on top.
Now all that remains is to fill the cups halfway with regular, settled water and place them on a well-lit windowsill so that the seeds germinate faster. You can expect results by the end of the first week, including the day on which the sowing was done.
Method in plastic bottles
Germination of seeds for seedlings in toilet paper is even more often done using the second method - in a 1.5-2 liter plastic bottle cut lengthwise. Each of the resulting halves of the container is lined with dense-fiber toilet paper, sprinkled with water and the seeds are laid out in a row on top, with a distance between the seeds of 2 to 3 cm. The future tomatoes are covered on top with perforated film (you can use a thick needle), after which, bottle boats » are placed in a warm and well-lit place. By the way, when growing seeds in bottles, you don’t have to worry about “flooding” the seeds - the amount of water with which the paper was initially moistened will be enough for the entire germination period.
The appearance of leaves on tomato sprouts in toilet paper will be clearly visible. When the first two leaves hatch, this will serve as a signal that it is time to plant the plants in separate containers.You need to carefully remove each sprout by unwinding the rolls or removing the film. Plant only strong plants in the ground, immediately discarding non-viable shoots that are unlikely to survive the picking.
In pre-prepared pots, it is enough to place any commercially available soil mixture for garden crops - you can grow tomatoes from seeds sown on toilet paper even on the most unpretentious soil.
